Blind Chains
by RoseWren
Summary: Kagura was the caged wind. She howled rattled and railed at the world this cruel and unfailing world that gave her life but not freedom, family but not love, hope but not faith: kindness, but along with too much time in the world.
1. Blind

Chapter One: Blind

_Kagura was the caged wind._

With a delicate sweep of her hand and a slight twist of her fan, a whirlwind twisted between delicate prongs and paper, swirling, and then knocking the ghoul-youkai to the ground.

_She howled, rattled and railed at the world._

"_Dance of the Dragons!_" The wind ripped the youkai apart, directly down the middle, and for a moment the corpse hung poised in the air. There was a fleeting warmth of splattered blood upon her face before it was ripped off by the wind and she let her forces subside. The battle was over.

_This cruel and unfailing world,_

The power held at bay in her eyes faded, crimson turning to ashy black. She let herself drift lower to the ground, setting a delicate, slippered foot onto the wet grass, nudging the corpse over. This was the right one, she assured herself, true to the last word of Naraku's description.

_That gave her life, but not freedom;_

Kagura sniffed delicately, youkai can only be inured to some such smells and long-dead flesh was never one of them, and floated higher. For a moment she was silhouetted against the stars; a vacuum of light against a suspended canopy of celestial fire.

_Family, but not love,_

Power, whole and throbbing like a pulse beneath skin, called to her. Just one more of that Shikkon no Tama. One more fragment of freedom. She punched her hand through the rib cage and was submerged up to her elbows in blood, her inner arms and wrists slick as she looped her fingers around. Her fingers hit something sharp and she withdrew a hand to wipe it on the grass beside her, flipping it over to check the palm, then the back. A small scratch on the back of her hand disappeared beneath her intense gaze and her youkai blood.

_Hope, but not faith,_

Grimacing, she shoved her hand in once more. There! She had it, pulling her hand out with the shard clasped securely within. She smiled and clamped down, feeling the bite of the fragment.

_Kindness, but along with _

_too much time in the world._


	2. Bitter

Chapter One: Bitter

Her fingers played over the silk of her kimono, and she could feel its smoothness beyond her fingers, and pretended that she could still see the rainbow splayed in the patterns across it. She traced a lazy thread with a nail, balancing her tea in the other hand, imagining perhaps a winding crimson dragon with big encompassing wings and laughing eyes.

She felt a presence by the door with a slight swish of fabric on wood and standing, she inclined her head.

"Yes?" Her tone was cool, and with that rustic inflection that her husband claimed was endearing.

"Kagura-sama, may this humble servant endeavor to aide you?" Sniveling fools, she found, did not grow less annoying or plentiful over the years. Crossly, she set her tea down with more force than was, perhaps strictly necessary.

But then sighed. She was weak.

"Food," Steps retreated in the darkness, "And not any of that processed shit either."

Kagura bit her tongue; 'twas uncouth of her to be so ungracious. She shifted, pulling up one leg underneath her, then squirmed uncomfortable and cursed everything Western. Them and their ridiculous chairs, she seethed, suddenly stiffening as she felt the mortal presence returning.

"Kagura-sama," She turned, trying to pin-point the source of the voice and feeling, too late, as her tea sloshed down onto her outer kimono.

Quickly hands lifted her sleeves and began sponging the spots. There was a surge of irritation and an ebb, the back lash of a swell of power barely contained. No, her husband would not thank her for frying one of his servants. Again.

A bitter price for freedom indeed. Changing chains; sloughing off bonds of blood, trading them for a darkened world and helplessness.

Her hands clenched and she could feel the smoothness of her claws. Unimpressive claws perhaps, but smooth strength. A small measure of leverage. She pressed them further into her palms, smiling gently at the crack they made as they broke. The man beside her flinched as her blood was no doubt perturbing him. Or perhaps he was hoping he wouldn't have to be the one to wash the stains.

"Do you know why I do this?" It was on whim that she asked him.

"No," He stuttered, making a choking sound, "No."

"I was once bound by my eyes," He shuddered, a deep avalanche she could feel as he crumpled beside her. "Yes, those that once were here."

She reached and drew the undamaged hand across the pits of her empty sockets.

"It bound me. I was foolish and eager to be rid of what I saw that hindered me in my tryst for freedom. I clawed them out myself.

"I was a fool. A desperate fool. And it brought me to what you see now, this empty shell of a woman. Dependant. Bound by nothing but my inability to care for myself."

She felt the man tighten his grip on her skirts, as if her veneered floor would swallow him alive.

"Go. And tell of the caged wind, Kagura."

* * *

Thankies to Amarth's Shadow!

And as a general note, I'll appologise for the shortness of the chapter, but updates will be as often as I can get my fingers on a keyboard. (Reviews often speed along the process!)


	3. Dead Allies

Chapter 3: Dead Allies

"You scared him, Kags," Her husband admonished her, laughing.

"And it's so hard to find another imbecile to take his place?" She quirked an eyebrow and he laughed again, a gentle whuffing noise.

"No, but you're giving me an unfavorable reputation in the surrounding areas. Not funny!" He protested as she grinned.

"Perhaps not my dear, but it is amusing never the less."

He flicked her ear and then bent down and lifted her up, carrying her into the bedroom that they shared.

"How would you feel about entertaining in a few days time?" He asked, shifting her so that he could fling back the covers and then settling her beneath them. She heard him walk around the end and the give of the mattress as he lay down beside her.

"For whom?"

"Associates. Western ones who want to sell to the country. Help with the modernization effort." Kagura nodded, turning to his steady warmth and levering herself up so that he could slip an arm under her and then settling down.

"What day?" It came out as a sleepy whisper.

"Next…Monday?" She could hear him stumble over the Western word.

"Hai." His arms closed in about her and she fell asleep with a sense of comfort. If not contentment.

* * *

Review Responses:

Amareth's Shadow: Hopefully everything will sort itself out. . The red eyes may make a comback...(yes, shameless hinting but what can I do? lol) Pairings? Actually, I'm not sure...

Ha, I guess it's pretty sad if even the author doesn't know...>.>

Jikemes: Thanks...

okioki: lol! Thank you!


	4. Flowers

Chapter 4: Flowers Falling Free

AN- Thanks to all for all those beautiful reviews! They're what push me to actuall update!

"Tea, Sir?" She smiled, bowing.

"Uh? Oh, yes please." She could feel his uncertainty roiling in the room like some the beast. "I've taken a liking to this Oriental stuff." He said by way of explanation to his comrades.

Their stares drilled into her and she seethed behind her painted smile. She stirred carefully with quick practicality, turning the tea to a froth and then allowing her husband to disperse the cups.

"Tell us, lady, how you came by your scars." She looked sharply at foreigner, turning to his voice; this was a new low for breaching etiquette, even for Westerners.

"She was savaged by a beast in her youth." There was a comforting warmth by her shoulder.

"Oh, forgive me then. That was rude." The man, casting her a hasty look, apologized. She smiled, feeling the color crack on her lips.

"There is nothing to forgive." There was warm breath billowing across her cheek; a sigh relief from her husband. An awkward silence held for a moment and she allowed it to stretch on, reveling on their uncomfortable squirming.

"So-" One began and she set down her cup.

"How would you like to hear something of our legends?" She asked and there was a quick intake of breath to her right.

"Legends?" Asked one, momentarily intrigued.

And the former, tactless one babbled, "Kohaku, your wife is remarkable! Beauty and intelligence. These oriental women are exquisite."

"Your praise is too extravagant." Her husband stiffened but made a noble attempt at a smile. "We are but a humble couple."

"There isn't a humble bone in your wife's body." The men laughed, their voices tempered too loud with sake, and reminding her of spiders skittering across glass.

Kagura _hated _spiders.

"Would you? Like to hear of our legends, I mean." She smiled like a school girl and waved her fan delicately and ignoring the growing urge to squash these spider men.

"Legends?"

"Perhaps one of those of our Edo period; of youkai –demons-, mikos –priestesses-, and our vast array of those which exist now only in stories."

"Now?" Questioned one and she smiled, touching a finger to her lips and then curling it into her palm as she felt flecks of paint stain the tip. "You make it sound as if they once were!"

There was a small peal of laughter that rang a little too loudly, and for a little too long. Yet one sat in silence and regarded her coldly.

"Perhaps my master of the language is not what I would wish it to be." Kagura smiled.

"You give yourself too little credit, Madame."

"Mr. Ingard," Kohaku began but cut himself off.

"Please, tell us one of your stories." It wasn't an open challenge but Kagura smiled at the foreigner.

"Very well," She picked up her saucer and let the heat soak through the lengths of her kimono, "I don't suppose you've heard the tale of the Shikkon no Tama? It is otherwise known as the Jewel of the Four Souls.

"I should say once upon a time, to tell it as the Westerner _story_tellers do; but I should warn you now: every word I say hence is true.

"Many years past there was a child who possessed unusual powers. She was a miko, and the most beloved of our tale. On the eve of her fifteenth birthday, she was lured into a well which transported her five hundred years into the past…

* * *

"And so the evil hanyou Naraku, sealed her into the well and into her time, leaving the jewel incomplete and her son, her lover, and friends alone to grieve and die never knowing what would become of her in the future or if their sacrifices would ever have amounted to anything."

It was an emotional telling, told in part by her, in part- when she could no longer bring herself to continue- by her husband.

"That can't be the end!" Exclaimed one, eyes over-bright with sake.

"It is." Kohaku said quietly; it had brought back memories for them both.

"I believe we've quite overstayed our welcome; it's getting late and we ought to get back to the base.

"Thank you for you hospitality." It was said by Mr. Ingard and in such a tone of voice that she knew that they weren't the only ones affected by the telling.

Kagura rose awkwardly and bowed, smiling: she had won.

* * *

Review Response:

Killshea Kavani: Merci! . I'm glad you still like the story!

Juliakaze: Weeeell...I'm really not quite sure about the pairings, or rather not yet at least. That's my wild card in the plot, and I hope you won't mind if it turns out to be someone else... Thanks for reviewing!

Yavi: SQUEEE! huggles Okay, so crazy good or crazy bad? . and Kohaku is just...he loves her alot, that's all I'm gonna say. It's more (with the nickname) that he can get away with it andthen that she allows him to as well. She's something of a dominant figure in the marriage. Je ne sais pas...(ou je n'sais pas?...) Much lurve for coming to the movies with the boy and I!

Much love, and REVIEW DOG NABBIT!


	5. Drums

Chapter Four: Drums

AN- Can we say Rose no baka? -bangs head on wall- Okay guys, here's the story; this was the chapter that was suppsed to go in place of number five. It didn't seem like there was anything missing, I know, but this plays into something later. Very sorry, and I promise an extra long chapter as a nice apology. Gomen!

* * *

She was dreaming, this she knew; it had that uncertain quality, that if you just stretched out a hand, one could lift the curtains of sleep and be faced with reality once more. Once again, she was the wind witch; a respected and feared part of Naraku's make-up. She could feel her power swell and bear her away, pale tenderness manifested beneath her folded legs gently caressing the night.

A battle raged beneath her and the flames licked the under-edge of her sanctuary; the scent of charred flesh and the metallic tang of life blood spilt robbed the night air of its sweetness. The dead and dying were being slowly consumed and she knew, with a cold knowing, that she was next.

She could see the hanyou Inuyasha stand with his whore, the miko's power flaring out around her in a pale pink. Deadly whips of power spanned about her and Kagura could feel her gathering them together on her arrow tip.

The _twang _of the arrow seemed to rent the air and she could see her death hurtling after her as she ducked.

It hit her above the breast and with a small puff of breath, it hit her heart.

_I refuse…_

Darkness assailed her and she could feel herself falling into the inferno below her.

…_Thump…thump…_

…_thump………thump…_

_Thump…_

…_pause…thump…pause two more seconds…thump…_

_Three seconds; four. Kagura was hearing her life-thump- fade. _

_Thumpthumpthump…_

_It was a feeble attempt at life. _Just give it up,_ she told her faux-heart._

…_Pause fifteen seconds…_

_The ghost organ gave a feeble splutter and with that the wind witch smiled._

_There was music, perhaps not like what she would have imagined as music._

_Thump. Thump Thump. Drums; an almost fitting tribute to her final moments. _

_Suddenly the music was interrupted. Violins played harsh screams and there were drums. Harps played as ghost forms forced their sorrowful strands of song._

_You don't want to die._

Violence.

_Her heart started to beat to their drums. Drums beat and directed her. Thump. _Pound! _Thump... splutterthumpPOUND!spluttersplutterthump…thump…_

_DAMN YOU! I don't want to live, she thought, panicking. Life is not life without freedom. There is no life without Naraku!_ _I refuse to live!_ _Give it up already!_

Splutter. _Thump. _Pound! _Thump_. Pound! _Thump. _Pound! _Thump._

_With a tired resignation, she felt the will to live return to her_.

_Thumpthump. _Pound! _Thump thump thump. **Life.**_

Nice try, sweetling, but you shall never be free of me.

_She could see the hazy silhouettes of Naraku's palace swim before her as she burst from Naraku's seeing pool, and up onto the tiles. Coughing and cursing, she staggered up, leaning into Naraku's embrace and hating herself for it. He kissed her, sucking on her bottom lip, not letting go until she was weak with lack of air._

_"Oh yes, Kagura my pet, I've missed you very, very much." He smiled and wiped his hand across his mouth. "So nice of you to come back."_


	6. Rupture

Chapter Five: Rupture

Her small claws scythed out at the night, breath hitching in her throat. The inferno was enveloping her in flames; hot and rich: their tongues crackled in her ears...

She was tangled up in her sheets, their white smoothness offering no resistance to her as she rose. A dream. She identified it carefully, smoothing out all of the ripples in her youkai with a practiced hand.

Fear-scent still clung to her and she paused as she got up, instead turning to the night air. Quietly, she closed her sightless eyes and dredged up images of winter nights centuries past.

What did moonlight look like? White.

What was white? What was color? Red: crimson, pink, hues and words that now meant nothing.

But she narrated the scene in her mind: Moonlight would be spilling into the courtyard of the expansive mansion and trees would bend in suspended ecstasy at the caress of the breeze, the rock garden only looking like a shinning mirror reflecting white moon.

"Only moonlight never changes." She whispered and put out a hand as if she could almost catch the elusive image.

Weakness. Fear-scent. Both clung to her and she stayed out as long as she could, until the first thrush called in the morning and there was a gentle tap as her maid uncertainly tried to bring her in.

She ignored the clucking woman as she was tucked back into bed, the empty double bed where she waited nights and long hours for it to be filled.

Kohaku was gone, she reminded herself to pick at raw, festering wounds that had been torn and poked at a little more as each decade passed since he died. Disappeared on that be _damned_ voyage to the Indies. Good business proposition he had said. Good way to die.

There was no one to share these lonely times with, to pleasure and spurn, to take comfort in and give comfort to. To stave off bankers and then start her business and watch it flourish.

Kagura was changing, she knew, with her last link to the past severed.

She wished that that damn miko would hurry up and get born already; she had a few things to tell her.

"I wish to visit my headquarters," Kagura informed the woman as she rose, dressing herself in her customary full kimono, a private indulgence and tribute to the memory of the past.

She wondered if there would be a day when she couldn't bring herself to don such.

The swish, the light kiss of her skirt over the enameled marble, it spoke to the wind and the witch as she stepped unerringly over the threshold of her home. It was a skill she had developed over time, to read the messages the wind brought her, to tell where objects were.

The limo was pulling up as she stepped out onto the last of her marble stairs. A foot man stood, only assisting to open the door, knowing from experience that his mistress was an incredibly independent woman who would allow none to aide her even if she should be in mortal peril.

So he contented himself in merely opening the door for her, wondering in a little corner of his mind if it were too late to switch out of the household or if, as the contract said, you were bound to the Naraku household for life. He sincerely hoped not, for the Mistress was beginning to creep him out. It was rumored that she never aged, waiting year after year for her husband to come home: that she had clawed out her own eyes.

And then there was this prickling feeling in the back of his skull that told him-somehow- he had always known of this caged wind.

AN- Thankies to all who are so very patient.


	7. Paramour

**IMPORTANT **AN: Ever noticed that seems to take out spaces in rather inconvenient places? Frankly, it's annoying.

I wanted to explain what happened with chapter four and five; somehow I'd thought that I'd already updated chapter four when in fact I'd updated number five. By some miracle, no one noticed that there was anything missing, and so spared my the embarassment. But if you've skipped over 'Drums,' then you may want to go back and have a look-see. Gomen!

Chapter Six: Memory Thresh

Kagura stepped out of the limo with an uncaring grace, product of years of being unable to see-or perhaps even care-- what people thought of her. The driver rushed to assist her but she had already sprung onto the pavement and he was left standing with empty hands.

She wrinkled her nose delicately as she caught a full breath of city air, flavored with unwashed bodies and hopelessness. The wind spoke of long buildings, rough and gray, color bleached out by the years; of little people and their little worlds, all too caught up in their little lives to look around them. At this, Kagura felt a surge of jealousy, and the wind picked up in response.

Walking in, she was once again assaulted by the utter lack of cleanliness. Or perhaps, the utter obsession with it. The lobby was a sterile room, without warmth and without any flavor but that of the AC and the heavy perfume of one of the greeting secretaries.

"May I help you, M'am?" Asked one, probably pretty but with an unforgivably blunt inflection.

Kagura allowed herself a brief, tight smile and strode past her and into a waiting elevator. The driver grinned as he explained to the woman exactly who she had spoken with.

He trotted to catch up with her and ducked in just as the doors were closing. The insufferable man had the temerity to smile good-naturedly and, inwardly smirking, Kagura shaped the wind to press the button to the uppermost floor.

The elevator jolted into motion and she took perverse pleasure in the man's surprise.

The dream still held most of her thoughts in its vice, and Kagura took a moment to examine the emotions associated with it. Certainly it had upset her, even after so many years. She sighed, and put it down for later examination; not at a time when weird behavior could, possibly would be detrimental.

Regaining his balance, she felt his eyes flicker to her nervously. She leaned back against the smooth paneling, closing her eyes and mentally reviewing all that needed to be done. There were finances to go over, banking representatives to meet with, and that damnable vice president! He had totally screwed over the American Tourmaline deal.

The elevator was moving with relative quickness, but fifty-four stories was a lot of space to traverse and her companion was obviously feeling the silence. She decided to make him feel a bit more uncomfortable and although she already knew…

"Houshi-san," she said and he started, "What's on my agenda today?"

He squirmed a second.

"Sorry- did I surprise you?" It wasn't out of malicious intent that she pushed buttons, but that she was simply bored. She briefly considered telling him this, but quickly squashed the notion.

She was getting complacent, but then again, a couple hundred decades did that to you.

"You know my name." He drummed his fingers in a 3/4 tempo, pointedly looking anywhere but her face. She inclined her head in acknowledgment.

"It was the only reason I took you on; your credentials not withstanding." Musingly, she added, "I have a thousand like them sitting on my desk; men from Yale, Harvard, Oxford, and all clamoring to be my _valet_. No, your name reminded me of someone I knew long ago."

"An old friend?" he asked cautiously, trying vainly to ease the strained conversation.

"An old enemy."

"Oh." He said, shifting awkwardly.

"Do stop that." She said, with a pointed look to his shuffling feet.

"Sorry," He said sheepishly, shooting her looks of confused amazement.

The door dinged and Houshi-san stepped and held it for her. Kagura patted him on the head absently as her vice president and about two dozen Heads and secretaries converged upon her, waving files, jostling to be seen, and yelling to be heard over the din.

Kagura was astonished, approaching on furious. What were these men; Heads or school children jockeying for a teachers' attention?

She waited, imagining their guts splattered over the wall. The image was a pleasing one, and it was her slightly predatory grin that finally drew their attention.

She turned to the Vice President and ground out with civility that surprised even her, "You're fired."

He spluttered in wordless outrage as she swept past him and pointed to his secretary, a woman who no doubt knew very well how to run a company, or at least competent and up-to-date on proceedings to the point that she could hold the position until Kagura found someone better.

"You're his temporary replacement," The woman gulped and looked vaguely sick, which Kagura noted and revised her earlier declaration with, "Very temporary."

Houshi-san approached, rolling her office chair in front of him, whispering as she sank down, "So we're holding court out here?"

She shot him a humorless grin and he nodded, taking off at a run and returning with two men carrying a small desk, no doubt appropriated from a nearby office cubicle.

"Please sort yourselves and you matters from least to most important." Said Houshi-san, gesturing the rabble into a line. Turning to her with a blithe grin, he added, "I do like to assert my worth upon occasion."

The line stretched around the interior and down the long hall leading to the private offices. Refusing the urge to rub her temples and groan, Kagura allowed Houshi-san to motion forward the newly appointed vice president.

"Naraku-sama," She began, stuttering and stumbling over her words, casting about wildly about for help.

"She doesn't bite," Said Houshi-san, smiling gently, and Kagura mentally revised her opinion of his usefulness; he had people skills-something she had a chronic lack of.

"Well," The woman paused, stealing glances at her coworkers in mute entreaty.

"Very well, Ozaki-san, I relieve you of your post. I will assume your responsibilities," Something was niggling at the back of her mind, some tantalizing imprint upon the wind. She didn't realize that she was leaning forward to catch another whiff until she was almost out of her seat and Houshi-san was peering into her face intently, ready to catch her should she be unwell. She nodded, signifying all was well, and he stepped back.

She cleared her throat, uncomfortably aware that most on the floor had noticed her lapse. Gods, she must be getting senile-there simply was no other excuse.

"I will assume your responsibilities until a replacement can be found." The woman looked relieved and bobbed her head enthusiastically.

"I can give you a brief review of our financial status in the Impression bid," She offered and Kagura nodded her acquiescence; at least the girl was good for something.

* * *

The review turned out to be not-so-brief and many hours later and with still more than half the Heads to interview, Kagura rung for a private luncheon to be served in her office. All was organized by Houshi-san with impressive speed and economy, both which Kagura could appreciate. 

"Houshi-san-"

"Please," He interrupted, "call me Miroku-san; Houshi-san was my father's name and I'll never feel comfortable donning it."

Kagura indulged in a brief shrug along with a fleeting look of introspection, "Miroku-san," She paused, considering briefly how to phrase her next question, "Out of those you've seen today, who do you think is most eligible?"

Before he could answer, the door was flung open and slammed into the wall and bits of plaster rained down. Miroku was on his feet in an instant and in front of her desk, acting as a shield between her and the arrival, his countenance stern and wary.

A two figures strode in, the one to the right eyeing Miroku with chilly intensity for a moment and then turning to Kagura as he pushed the other forward.

She rose, with deliberate movements that commanded all eyes, motioning Miroku to the side as she stepped forward.The windwitch recognized the man as her Head of Security, Georg Forsooth, imported from Germany.

"What is the meaning of this?" She hissed, bringing all of the command she possessed to bear, accentuated by her youkai presence.

The man in front bowed stiffly but she waved aside the formalities.

"Kagura-sama, this man has been insisting that he see you and has made his point rather unavoidably." The meaning was clear.

She was vaguely surprised. The news didn't particularly worry her; she was still, in fact, fully capable of protecting herself. But, she mused, it was the principle of the thing.

"You haven't changed a bit, Kagura."

She stiffened at the familiarity and the implied slight, but said nothing. Where had she heard that voice before?

That dream…

Her breath caught in her throat as a memory manifested itself, drudging up with it the tattered, fragmented pieces of others and running them together. Golden eyes--long silver hair--

She stiffened and fisted her hands in her obi and closed her eyes-she'd never expected to relieve these again.

--pink whips of holy power--_Tessaiga_!--brothers--dog ears; it halted abruptly, and Kagura could feel the wind spelling out Miroku's movements as he deftly maneuvered her into a chair and unwrapped a selection of strawberry pocky procured from the desk, handing the bag to her and helping himself to another.

Very considerate of him to give her something to think of instead of what she was faced with.

Georg's description was quite accurate: unavoidable indeed. Valets, she thought dreamily, are wonderful, wonderful people; then hastily ammending with, 'not so wonderful as to warrant a raise, of course.'

Rolling with Fate, she chanced a look upward and was met with two eyes that flashed dangerously.

Inuyasha.

Oh damn.

* * *

AN- With any luck, people enjoyed that; I certainly had a lot of fun writing it! Be kind and REVIEW! 

Response:

Yavi: Quite possibly. Thankies for the time spent chained to my bed (>. -grimaces- Oi, that sounds wrong! lol) with a laptop...Naraku? I guess it's so she'll never forget, and essentially, he IS her father- perhaps I should explain that better. Update Flight Chappie 3! -Much lurve.

kagura-ness: Confusing is ALWAYS good. -blushes- Merci! (I know! I was so sad to have her do that but it was a nessecery plot element...-sigh-)

Killshea: . Hopefully I didn't disappoint with this! Thank you, as always.

Meahow: Thankies! ->.> Heheheheheh...That's always been my problem. .

Cursed Butterfly: T.T Wow, I'm really...wow. I can't thank you enough;I _love _insight as to how people view my story! -bows- I'm so glad that you like it! (Though I will admit that I've been surreptitiously double-checking my spelling and grammer with you in mind.)

As for the 'caged," I'm much in the same boat with my parents. Can't go out on weeknights, can't stay out past eight, and heaven help meif I so much as look cross-eyed at a boy! Oi! Well, hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint. . I'm not quite sure if it's going to be Sesshoumaru or Inu- (oops! Better not give anything away!)

Honestly though? I considered doing a poll but it just seemed so...bleck. But I do oppinions... R&R and tell me what you think? Oh! And tell me what you think of this chapter- I tried something new and introduced a bit of my own brand of humor. With any luck it worked!

Boyo: Thanks luv- tell me what you think of this one?


	8. Shards

Chapter 7:

Her bearings returned to her immediately and she took stock carefully. Miroku, unless he possessed some of her old enemy's abilities, would only be a liability in this situation, but he did have the added affect of being one of Inuyasha's old companions. Reincarnated.

"I might say the same Inuyasha, seeing that you always did have a penchant for arriving where you're wanted least." He smiled, the slight breeze whispering across the contours of his lips.

"It's good to see you haven't lost your way of turning a phrase, Kagura." He took a seat with out waiting for an invite, seeming to contemplate where to rest his feet before settling them on her desk, over a stack of papers.

Was he trying to get himself killed? The wind witch wondered with rising ire, sightless eyes blindly scanning the walls behind him. "So, tell me Inuyasha, what brings you here?"

His smile spread a few molars and for a moment she wished she hadn't asked. "Can't I stop in on an old friend?"

She arched a brow, "I wasn't aware of that relation."

"Come now, we are the only two who still live, is that not so?" Kagura lifted a shoulder, as if to say, so what?

"Does not Sesshoumaru still rule?" Inuyasha waved a hand to dismiss his brother.

"I think that entitles me to a little, don't you?" Her mouth dropped open in surprise mingled with amusement.

"You want money?"

"Don't be absurd," The smile was gone and in its place a look of intensity that was lost on the woman in front of him.

Kagura leaned back into the chair, steepling her fingers as she regarded the man in front of her. Behind the façade of a quiet disinterest, Kagura's mind was whirring. "Please," She held up a hand, "I think we're both a little too old to be skirting around the issue like this. Speak plainly and I think we'll both be much better pleased."

"I think that in order to preserve both our sanities, we should remind each other of the Feudal Era." Kagura blink, of the many scenarios she had been playing her mind, the different motives and different deviances, this was not one that she'd expected of him.

"I'm a married woman-"

"Kohaku's long gone."

"-and no hime to be bought for a few pretty pennies and a promise of renewed fervor in the bedroom. Don't insult me Inuyasha."

"Don't worry, I've no intention of bedding you, of all people. Really, we're something like kin. Kagome," The name caused him pain as he flung it out, "My mate, was blood-bonded sister to Sango, your husband's sister."

"This means nothing to me." He frowned, then sighed. The muscles in his back seeped tension out of them, and she allowed herself a small trickle of sympathy.

"All I'm asking, really, is a palace to wit out the remaining two decades. I'm losing my mind out there, Kagura, honest, that's all I want."

"It seems you learned something of tact, all that time out there," Kagura admitted grudgingly, pressing her fingers into the bottom of her jaw as she rested it the their tips. "Tell me of your doings since," She paused for a moment, studying the hard contours of his face, "Naraku's demise."

He blinked once and she could hear his sharp rasp of breath as he leveled his gaze on her. Funny that he hadn't said that name either in so long that to hear it said would cause actual pain and funny that she had done the same. Perhaps there was something to be gained here after all.

"There isn't much to tell, and to say anything of these long years would humble them somehow, I think. Let's leave it at that I was very, very bored." He flashed her a smile that displayed a pair of gleaming incisors. Bored indeed.

"But I don't expect you to grand me this without…without something in return, if I may return to the business at hand." Her brows drew together in a light frown; his eyes said that there was a trump card to be played here, something that would have enough worth to her to force her hand either way. He snapped his fingers and one of his elegantly draped men came forward, bowing before presenting a darkly enameled box balanced on his palms.

"Thank you," said Inuyasha, taking the thing from his and placing it deliberately on her desk. "I think you will like what you find here. This is my rent, if you will."

The lines between her eyes deepened. There was something of power in that box…

"Miroku-san? If you would…?" She could hear the rustle of his clothes an the clip of his shoes as he moved to take it from the silver-haired man and then the _paa-paa-paa_ of his return.

"Naraku-san," said Miroku, setting the box in front of her with a slight bow.

She gave a shallow inclination of her head and then focused her attention of the box. It was like a fire that seeped into the room, akin somehow to standing next to a bonfire with only a shoji screen between herself and it. The heat was a palpable thing and she hesitated as she raised her fingers to lightly brush the lid. The latch came undone under her hand, but her fingers trembled as she pushed up the hook.

Three embers glimmered in her vision, pale white shards of light and she turned away from the sunbursts of their power. The lid slammed closed.

"What are they?" Kagura hissed, rubbing her streaming eyes on the back of her hand. "Even I, and I am blind, can see their sheer power…explain yourself!"

"They're shards of the Shikon no Tama, three of those that Kagome entrusted to me. I hope you'll understand if these are the only that I'm willing to part with." Kagura's hand hovered over the box as if holding her hand to warm over a fire.

"I think an arangment can be reached."

* * *

Review Response:

Killshea Kavani: winces guiltily Uuummm...blame AP? lol. At any rate, I know it doesn't seem like it soetimes but I skimped on the descriptions so...she's blind in only that she can't see. I kept thinking of the vortex of winds that she keeps around her and how sometimes she knows how/when others are atttacking. Perhaps the winds 'speak' to her? Something like using the winds to tell her where things are and ect. (And don't worry! Sesshoumaru shall appear shortly in all of his drool-ful glory. . I'm SUCH a fan girl...T.T )

jolth: smooch Never. (Define soon... . )

Stacie: Thank you! Hopefully this one will live up to your expectations, lol. .

Hal Demon Girl: Eek, I seem to be getting that a lot. -.- Um, so what part...?

Red Letter: Ooh thank you! I'm really glad you noticed, that's always one of the things I work hardest at with these. There were a couple parts where I was, uh, wincing but I hope I managed to smooth things over later. Miroku-san's the comic relief but sadly he's rather lack-luster in this chapter. PHEAR NOT! He shall make an appearence later...along with Sesshoumaru. .

Meahow: glomps He's so my favorite character at the moment and unfortunately he doesn't play much a of a role. pouts But I _liiiiike _those dreams and crap. Ummm, good point...sigh Double damn--I'm not very good at sustaining tensions. And anyways, I think more than half a story in most books is open air. If the author were asked to explain them, they'd go 'ha, yeah right but nice try' and look austre. I really think that Kagura is a woman trying to live in someplace other than reality...that really didn't turn out right since EVERY woman is like that but...sigh

small voice But now he's mature? T.T


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